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Title: Some Protective Designs of the Dakota
Author: Clark Wissler
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Language: English
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ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS
OF THE
American Museum of Natural
History.
Vol. I, Part II.
SOME PROTECTIVE DESIGNS OF THE DAKOTA.
BY
CLARK WISSLER.
NEW YORK:
Published by Order of the Trustees.
February, 1907.
American Museum of Natural History.
PUBLICATIONS IN ANTHROPOLOGY.
The results of research conducted by the Anthropological staff of the Museum, unless otherwise provided for, are
published in a series of octavo volumes of about 350 pages each, issued in parts at irregular intervals, entitled
Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History. The Anthropological work of the Museum is
organized under two heads. The Department of Ethnology exercises curatorial functions in ethnography, ethnology and
physical anthropology and in all archæology except that pertaining to the present confines of Mexico and the Central
American States which has been delegated to a distinct department entitled the Department of Archæology. This series of
publications aims to give the results of field-work conducted by the above departments, supplemented by the study of
collections in the Museum. The editorial responsibilities are administered by the Curator of the Department of Ethnology.
The following are on sale at the Museum at the prices stated.
Vol. I. Part I. Technique of some South American Feather-work. By Charles
W. Mead. Pp. 1-18, Plates I-IV, and 14 text figures. January,
1907. Price, $0.25.
Part II. Some Protective Designs of the Dakota. By Clark Wissler.
Pp. 19-54, Plates V-VII, and 26 text figures, February, 1907.
Price, $0.50.
ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS
OF THE
American Museum of Natural History
Vol. I, Part II.
SOME PROTECTIVE DESIGNS OF THE DAKOTA.
By Clark Wissler.
CONTENTS.
Introduction
Shield-designs
Ghost-dance Designs
The Hoop
The Whirlwind
The Thunder
The Spider
Conclusion
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Plates.
V. Model of a Shield, Museum No. 50-2929. Diameter, 39 cm.
VI. Shield-design on a Cape, Museum No. 50-3102. Width of
cape, 178 cm.
VII. Model of a Shield, Museum No. 50-5467. Diameter, 46 cm.
Text Figures.
1. Shield-cover with Design
2. Shield-design, from a Drawing by a Native
3. Drawing, by a Native, of a Shield-cover
4. Shield-design, from a Drawing by a Native
5. Spider-design for a Shield, from a Drawing by a Native
6. Shield-design, from a Drawing by the Man who dreamed of it
7. Shield-design representing a Thunderstorm, from a Drawing by a
Native
8. Model of a Shield with Pictographic Design
9. Design on Sioux Shield captured by a Fox Indian
10. Front of a Ghost-dance Garment
11. Back of Garment shown in Fig. 10
12. Designs on the Front of Ghost-dance Garment
13. Designs on the Back of Garment shown in Fig. 12
14. Front of a Ghost-dance Garment bearing Dragon-fly Design
15. Back of Garment shown in Fig. 14
16. Circular Design upon a Shirt
17. Sketch, by a Native, of an Elk-mystery Dancer carrying a Hoop
with a Mirror in the Centre
18. Engraved Metal Cross
19. Engraved Bone Object
20. Whirlwind Design, from the Handle of a Club
21. Whirlwind Design, from a Popgun
22. Whistle, of Bone
23. Design of a Spider-web
24. Sketch of a Robe for the Medicine-bow Owner
25. Design on a Metal Belt-ornament
26. Design of the Spider-web on a Straight Pipe
INTRODUCTION.
The decorative art of the Dakota has been treated in a preceding paper, in which brief mention was made of religious
art, or that art in which there was a definite, unmistakable motive on the part of the artist to represent mythical or
philosophical ideas. In this more serious art, a large number of designs may be characterized as “protective designs,”
because their presence or possession is in part a protection. The idea in a protective design seems to be a symbolical
appeal to the source or concrete manifestation of a protective power. It is not easy to get the point of view and the spirit of
the faith that make these designs significant, but from the detailed explanations of them some general idea can be formed.
The descriptions given in this paper are based upon the statements of Indians, in most cases the executers of the designs.
The attitude of the reader toward such a study as this is often that of concluding that the points of view set forth by a writer
are universal in the tribe. This leads to a great deal of superficial criticism. In the opinion of the writer, any rejection of such
study because one or two or several Indians deny all knowledge of some or all of the specific native accounts upon which
conclusions are based, is absurd. We might as well test the artistic sense of a city by calling in one or two persons from the
street. As a case in point, the reader is referred to the remarks of J. Owen Dorsey on the authenticity of Bushotter’s
Double Woman.[1] A great deal of the information received from Indians relative to religion is largely individual, and every
ethnological field-worker must take the best of his material from the brightest men of a tribe. The object of this study has
been to bring together ideas expressed by various individuals more or less eminent among their people, because all of these
individual conceptions seem to have much in common. The data were secured by the writer when on Museum expeditions
to the Teton and Yankton divisions of the Dakota.
[1]
Dorsey (Eleventh Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, p. 480).
SHIELD-DESIGNS.
The circular shield was distributed over a large part of North America. A conspicuous part of the arms of Mexican
warriors was “the round, small ‘target’ worn by the ‘brave’ on his left arm, and made of canes netted together and
interwoven with cotton ‘twofold,’ covered on the outside with gilded boards and with feathers, and so strong that a hard
cross-bow shot could alone penetrate them;”[2] but “merely ornamental shields [were also] used and carried by warriors
and chiefs on festive occasions only.”[3]
According to the same author, in Pre-Columbian times some of the Pueblo Indians used a thick disk of buffalo-hide as
a shield. On the Plains, from the Rio Grande to the Saskatchewan, the circular shield of buffalo-hide was, until the
extinction of the buffalo, a part of the regalia of every warrior. These shields usually bore symbolic designs. In many cases
the designs were painted upon the rawhide itself, and protected by a buckskin cover; while in other cases the designs were
painted upon the cover. Practically no shields of buffalo-hide are to be found in the hands of the surviving Dakota; but in
social and religious ceremonies, models or shield-covers of buckskin or cloth, upon which are painted the designs formerly
placed on shields, are often used. For purposes of study the writer secured such models of shields, with explanations of the
designs and with other shield-lore, from persons who formerly owned buffalo-hide shields.
When the enemies of the Dakota were armed with native weapons, the shield had some value in itself, because few
arrows could get through it, and it was of sufficient strength to ward off a blow from a club or an axe; but even at that time
the designs and medicine objects tied to the shield seem to have been regarded as of greater importance than the
mechanical properties of the shield itself. It was the power represented by the design to which the owner of the shield
looked for protection. Naturally, with the introduction of fire-arms, shields ceased to have a real protective value; but their
designs were still looked upon as capable of affording protection against evil. According to the statements of some old men
who still have faith in protective designs, the ancient shield manifested its power upon the mind of the enemy by influencing
them to shoot at the shield rather than at the exposed parts of the body of its bearer. But when fire-arms were introduced,
experience demonstrated that the shield was no longer a desirable object in battle, because the same influence that drew
arrows to it drew bullets also, and in this case with fatal results. From this they concluded that guns represented a mystic
power superior to that of shield-designs, but that the latter were still efficacious, except where so overpowered.
This explanation is interesting, because these men seem to have grasped the idea that the shield, being a conspicuous
object, would attract the attention and thus the aim of the enemy; but they confused this psychological explanation of the
observed facts with a mystic conception that the magic power of the design upon the shield was the cause or force that
reached out and lay hold of the attention of the enemy. Yet the introduction of fire-arms did not relegate the shield to
oblivion; and shield-designs are still cherished by men of the olden time, because they represent a kind of individual totem
or protective power.
The following descriptions of shield-designs are given with the interpretations of their owners.
A shield-cover decorated with feathers, bearing a design used by a chief on ceremonial occasions, and said by him to
be the copy of a shield carried in his youth, is shown in Plate v. The black border on top of the shield takes the form of the
new moon, which it represents. In the centre of the shield is a well executed drawing of an Indian on horseback. The horse
is in blue, with zigzag black lines extending down the legs. The blue color of the horse indicates his connection with the
thunder, or the powers of the sky. The background of the shield is in yellow, but the lower part has been worked over with
green. Symmetrically arranged around the mounted figure are four circles of purplish color, representing a phenomenon
observed in the sky, which seems to have been either the halo of the sun, or the phenomenon that passes under the name
of “sun-dogs.” From the description of the owner of the shield, it appears that these four circles were associated in his
mind with the medicine-hoop. He stated that this design as a whole was the representation of what he saw in a dream; that
the moon with its dark color was drawn to represent the night, because that was the time when he had this experience; and
that in the dream he saw a horse and rider appear in the sky surrounded by the four circular objects, as indicated upon the
shield. It appears from his explanation, that the association of the rings with the medicine-hoop was his own individual
interpretation of the significance of his dream. In the dream he could see a shield associated with these objects as they
would appear in reality; but in the design he attempted to convey an idea of what he saw in conformity with the
conventional modes of representative art practised by his tribe.
Fig. 1 (50-2970). Shield-cover with Design. Diameter, 42 cm.
Another shield-cover (Fig. 1) bears a bird-design, representing to the owner the osprey (?). One half of the
background of this shield is in yellow; the other half, in light green.[4] These two colors represent the appearance of the sky
at sunrise; the yellow corresponding to the region of the dawn, and the green to the dark sky above. The four stars
symmetrically arranged are colored black for the night, yellow for the dawn, blue for the evening, and red for the day; or in
other words the whole circle is represented. The design of the bird presents some interesting details. The lightning-symbols
represent the death-dealing power conferred upon the owner of such a shield-design at the time of his dream. The red
marks upon the breast of the bird, representing the national emblem of the United States, were interpreted by the owner as
symbolizing such death-dealing power in contending with soldiers. The peculiar feature upon the tail of the bird represents
an additional experience, and was added to the shield about the year 1867, after a successful engagement with the United
States troops, in which the owner of the shield participated. According to his account, the design on the tail of the bird is
the conventional symbol of the spider-web, but is used here to represent an experience preceding the above engagement.
As the war-party were moving forward, they saw a strange appearance in the sky, which took the form of this symbol.
The sight of it caused the war-party to scatter; and the interpretation placed upon this by the owner was, that its
manifestation of supernatural power, which was to be conveyed to them, would cause their enemies to scatter in like
confusion. During the confusion into which the party fell, the stars moved rapidly through the sky and the lightning flashed in
all directions. This is represented by the four corners of the design. At the top of the shield is a braid of sweet-grass and a
small buckskin bag containing medicines of a supposed charm-value. Before going into battle, some of this sweet-grass
was to be burnt, and ritualistic songs pertaining to the shield were to be sung. This having been done, the shield was
supposed to protect its owner from his enemies. Eight feathers, arranged in pairs, are attached to the shield, and their quills
are painted to correspond to the parts of the background to which they are attached.
Fig. 2. Shield-design,
from a Drawing by a Native.
Fig. 3. Drawing, by a Native, of a Shield-cover.
Fig. 4. Shield-design, from a Drawing by a Native.
Fig. 5. Spider-design for a Shield, from a
Drawing by a Native.
There is one interesting feature connected with this shield-design, and that is the
fact that some of the old men disapproved of the owner placing the spider-web design
upon the tail of the bird, because it was a mixing of supernatural manifestations. The
incident connected with this design was regarded by them as most extraordinary, and
as having been worthy of distinct and separate representation. According to the accepted modes of interpretation, this
experience should have been represented upon a new shield.
The specimen shown in Plate vi is not a shield-cover, but was nevertheless spoken of as a shield; and the design upon
it is an old shield-design. The specimen is a cape (made of cotton) worn around the shoulders in such a way that the design
could be seen upon the back of the wearer. Here are represented the rainbow, the thunder-bird (possessing in this case
characteristics which indicate that it was copied from the national emblem of the United States), the new and full moon,
and the stars. It will be observed that the stars in this case are four-pointed, similar to the design of the spider-web, and
they are regarded by the Indians as an example of the old original method of representing them.
As a great many Indians who formerly owned shields do not now possess
shield-covers, the writer secured drawings made by them of their former
shields. Such a sketch is reproduced in outline (Fig. 2). In the centre is a design
of the spider-web filled in with red. The ground of the shield is in blue,
representing the sky. Above and below are circular areas in yellow, representing clouds or heaven. Lightning-symbols in
red connect the yellow cloud-symbols with the four corners of the spider-web design. As a final suggestion relative to this
interpretation, the informant said, “The spider is the friend of the thunder.”
The manner in which the owner secured the shield-design represented in
Fig. 3 is as follows. Once when a war-party of which he was a member
were about to take the war-path, it was predicted by an old man that he
would be killed in the first battle. Before leaving with the party, he went to
an old medicine-man for help, and this man made him a shield bearing the design described below. The bird represented is
the hawk,—flying from the sky, protected by the thunder from the hailstones that fly thick and fast about him,—and
symbolizes the manner in which the owner of the shield will pass safely through the hail of lead from the enemy. Four pairs
of hawk-feathers are arranged symmetrically on the circumference of the shield.
In the shield-design in Fig. 4, we find a large circular area in the centre painted yellow and the surrounding portion red.
Around the circumference of the yellow portion are black spots, representing tufts of short crow-feathers. Upon the
original shield, across the top, there was tied the skin of a weasel, represented in the drawing by a pictograph of that
animal. Four pairs of feathers are arranged symmetrically on the circumference of this design.
The design represented by Fig. 5 is rather striking, since an image of the spider is placed in the centre of the shield
surrounded by a circle of red, through which the numerous red lines radiate to the circumference of the design. These red
lines represent the web of the spider. One end of a string is tied to the mouth of the spider, with an eagle-plume at the
other end, painted yellow. Around the circumference of the design is a wavy blue line, representing water. The owner of
this design received such a shield when a young man, and stated that he never understood why the medicine-man who
made it for him placed the blue line around it, and for that reason he could not explain its significance.
The design represented in Fig. 6 was dreamed of by the owner himself, and in
this dream he was presented with a shield bearing a design similar to the sketch. As
he was almost blind, the sketch is very crude. In it appear again the thunder-bird, the
stars, the yellow clouds, the red and blue lightning, the new moon, and the bear. It
was claimed that the curved double line at the bottom represented both the moon
and the lightning; the former by the colors, the latter by its form. Another interesting point in this design is the representation
of an eagle-feather upon the head of the bear. This is the conventional way of representing a supernatural bear as
distinguished from a real bear.[5] The owner of this shield-design claimed, that, while he did not now and had not for years
carried or kept about him a drawing of the design, he felt it as a kind of magic presence hovering around him, shielding him
from harm. He stated, further, that, while he knew that other men used the symbols represented in his shield-design as the
signs of particular powers and ideas, he himself had no such interpretation; for in the dream he saw nothing more than a
shield bearing these designs, and received no instruction or information as to their significance. Their protecting power to
him lay in the peculiar supernatural presence which he always felt.
The shield-design in Fig. 7 represents a thunderstorm. At the top, the clouds are represented in blue. Below this, falling
rain is represented by short irregular lines, and the lightning and thunder by zigzag lines extending downward from the
clouds on a background of clear sky. This design originated in the same manner as did the preceding; that is, a finished
shield was seen in a dream.
Fig. 6. Shield-design, from a Drawing by the Man who dreamed of it.
Fig. 7. Shield-design representing a Thunderstorm, from a Drawing by a Native.
Plate vii is the reproduction of a model of a shield made of shrunken bull-hide covered with buckskin. It was collected
by Dr. J. R. Walker. The design is somewhat similar to the preceding. The upper part is painted in blue to represent the
clouds, and the lower part in bluish-green to represent the sky. In the cloud-area is the drawing of a horse, symbolizing a
dream-horse (probably the thunder-horse). The thunder, or power, is symbolized by red zigzag lines extending downward
from the cloud-area. An eagle-feather and twelve hawk-feathers are tied to a small buckskin bag of medicine, fastened to
the shield in a manner suggesting their attachment to the mane of the horse. The circumference of the shield is decorated
Fig. 9 (50-3569). Design on Sioux
Shield captured by a Fox Indian.
Diameter, 42 cm.
with small feathers, and four pairs of eagle-feathers are also arranged symmetrically around the circumference.
Fig. 8 (50-5456). Model of a Shield
with Pictographic Design. Diameter, 47 cm.
A shield (Fig. 8) similar to the preceding represents a vision in which the dreamer was apparently supported by the
thunder-horse in a contest with the mythical turtle. A small bag of medicine and a pendant eagle-plume are attached to the
shield, as in the previous case. Feathers are again arranged in four pairs. This specimen was collected by Dr. J. R. Walker.
In the Museum collection from the Sauk and Fox Indians, made by Dr. William Jones, is a shield captured from the
Sioux, at the time of the outbreak of 1866, by a Fox in the employ of the United States Government. The design was
painted upon the rawhide, but is now almost obliterated. Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic restoration. The writer saw an old
buffalo-hide shield in the possession of an Assiniboine, at Fort Belknap, Montana. The design was painted upon buffalo-
hide, and was similar to that in Fig. 9. He collected also from the Dakota a number of drawings representing military
exploits. While twenty shields are represented in these drawings, fourteen of them bear simple circular designs, as shown in
the adjoining figure. This suggests that the older type of shield-decoration made use of simple circular designs. This idea
was supported by the testimony of a number of old men who ought to be competent to speak upon the subject. Of course,
there is no reason why the image of the thunder-bird, so common upon modern shield-designs, should not have been used
in ancient times; and the writer wishes to be understood as expressing this as an opinion based upon indirect evidence.
These circular designs often represented the sun, other heavenly bodies, or the
sky, which suggests that formerly the shield as a whole may have been considered as a
symbol of the sun. The survivors of shield-using days seemed to have no actual
knowledge of any connection between the shield-form and the sun, but usually
expressed it as their opinion that it represented the sun, and that the feathers
represented the sun’s rays. This may have been suggested by the fact that eagle-
feathers were sometimes arranged in a half-circle to represent the rays of the sun, and that, furthermore, the rays of the sun
were sometimes spoken of as feathers.
Shield-designs could originate only in dreams and visions, and were painted by the person experiencing them, who
prayed and sang over his work to give the shield power. Usually but four shields could be made from a single dream: to
make a great number was sacrilege. Among the Blackfoot, the shield was often accompanied by a ritual composed of
songs and prayers; and they possessed a few shields with such important rituals that they were distinguished from the
others as “medicine-shields.” There seems to have been a similar condition among the Dakota, for it was often said that
medicine-shields were hung outside the tepees, upon tripods, and that during the day they were changed from time to time
so as to keep them facing the sun. This practice was observed by a number of Plains tribes. However, among the Dakota
the tripod often gave place to a single pole.
[2]
Bandelier (Reports of the Peabody Museum, Vol. II, p. 109).
[3]
Bandelier, op. cit., p. 108.
[4]
In the drawings, colors are indicated by the following devices: red, by horizontal shading; yellow, by
vertical shading; green, by left oblique shading; blue or purple, by right oblique shading. Black and
white have their conventional qualities. The drawings were made by Miss R. B. Howe.
[5]
For an illustration see Catlin, North American Indians (7th ed., 1848), Plate 102.
GHOST-DANCE DESIGNS.
About the year 1890 a religious movement, generally known as the “ghost-dance religion,” infected the Plains Indians.
The chief feature of this religion was the belief in a speedy return of the old time, the buffalo, and the extermination of the
white race. The different tribes had various ideas of their duties with respect to this new faith, and, with the exception of the
Dakota, they did not manifest direct hostility to the white race. This warlike people, however, were already greatly
dissatisfied with the treatment they received from the Government and with the difficult conditions under which they lived.
In consequence, they received the ghost-dance religion as a herald of the good time which, to their minds, was to be
secured only by war with the white race. While a great many of the conditions in the immediate environment of the Dakota
have been given by various writers as causes for the outbreak, the fact that these Indians interpreted the new religion as the
manifestation of a warlike spirit was probably due to the fact that they were at heart a warlike people. Their ideas still run
toward military things. As the essential idea of the ghost-dance religion was a return of the old time, the ceremonies
pertaining thereto made use of the typical objects and ideas of the past. In this, of course, they were not entirely consistent,
since they did not discard the use of fire-arms, and did not actually resurrect bows, arrows, and shields. Yet, as a
substitute for the protective power of the shield, they introduced garments bearing protective designs. These garments are
generally known under the name of “ghost-shirts,” and at the time of the outbreak were spoken of by white people as
“bullet-proof shirts.” The following are descriptions of these garments by eye-witnesses at the time of their first
appearance:—
“All the men and women made holy shirts and dresses they wear in dance. The persons dropped in dance would
Fig. 10 (50-3053). Front of a Ghost-dance Garment.
Length, 126 cm.
Fig. 11 (50-3053). Back of Garment
shown in Fig. 10.
Fig. 12 (50-3054). Designs on the Front of
Ghost-dance Garment. Length, 128 cm.
Fig. 13 (50-3054). Designs on the Back
of Garment shown in Fig. 12.
all lie in great dust the dancing make. They paint the white muslins they made holy dresses and shirts out of with blue
across the back, and alongside of this is a line of yellow paint. They also paint in the front part of the shirts and
dresses. A picture of an eagle is made on the back of all the shirts and dresses. On the shoulders and on the sleeves
they tied eagle-feathers. They said that the bullets will not go through these shirts and dresses, so they all have these
dresses for war. Their enemies’ weapon will not go through these dresses. The ghost-dancers all have to wear eagle-
feather on head.”[6]
“I think they wore the ghost-shirt or ghost-dress for the first time that day. I noticed that these were all new, and
were worn by about seventy men and forty women. The wife of a man called Return-from-scout had seen in a vision
that her friends all wore a similar robe, and on reviving from her trance she called the women together, and they made
a great number of the sacred garments. They were of white cotton cloth. The women’s dress was cut like their
ordinary dress, a loose robe with wide, flowing sleeves, painted blue in the neck, in the shape of a three-cornered
handkerchief, with moon, stars, birds, etc., interspersed with real feathers, painted on the waist and sleeves.
“The ghost-shirt for the men was made of the same material—shirts and leggings painted in red. Some of the
leggings were painted in stripes running up and down, others running around. The shirt was painted blue around the
neck, and the whole garment was fantastically sprinkled with figures of birds, bows and arrows, sun, moon, and
stars, and everything they saw in nature. Down the outside of the sleeve were rows of feathers tied by the quill-ends
and left to fly in the breeze, and also a row around the neck and up and down outside of the leggings. I noticed that a
number had stuffed birds, squirrel-heads, etc., tied in their long hair. The faces of all were painted red with a black
half-moon on the forehead or on one cheek.”[7]
As is noted by the above, designs on these garments were made by
individuals who had dreams or other unusual experiences similar to those of
the medicine-men; and it would seem from this account that the designs and
objects used in the dance were in every way similar to those employed
before the ghost-dance religion appeared. The writer made the
acquaintance of several individuals who had prepared such garments at the time of the ghost-dance, and from them he
secured reproductions with explanations as to the significance of the designs. As some time had elapsed since the ghost-
dance religion was at the height of its popularity, it is possible that the more special features belonging to it were forgotten
by these men, and that they worked into the reproduced garments older and more conservative ideas. However, the writer
is of the opinion, and he took special pains to investigate as best he could, that whatever may have been lost in this way
made no important changes in either the objective character of the designs or in the ideas expressed by them. As a matter
of fact, the ghost-dance in some of its milder forms is still observed.
Some garments secured by the writer are decorated on both front and back with designs chiefly pictographic. On the
front of one (Fig. 10) is a large triangular space extending downward from the shoulders (one half of which is in red and
the other half in blue), thickly dotted over with white spots representing hailstones. The red represents the morning; and the
blue, the night. Extending across from side to side is a large arched figure made up of red, yellow, white, and green bands,
representing the rainbow. Above this are two four-pointed stars, the red for the morning star and the black for the stars
seen in the night. There is a large green star with eight points on the dividing-line between day and night, concerning which I
secured no satisfactory explanation. At the apex of the triangular space are small dots of yellow, representing the dawn;
and the sun is placed on each side of the division between day and night. The new moon is represented by a black
crescent. On the morning-side of this design is the picture of a butterfly; while on the night-side, extending over into the
morning, is a picture of a peculiar figure, which the artist regarded as a spirit-bird or man-bird, as he expressed it, with the
medicine-hoop in his hand. The other portion of the dress is covered over with small dots in various colors, representing
bullets. There are also pictures of butterflies, stars, and buffalo-tracks. On one side are two parallel wavy red lines, and on
the other two in green, representing the lightning.
On the other side of this garment, or the back (Fig. 11), is the
representation of a bird, which seems to be mythical rather than realistic. The
background upon which the figure rests is dotted to represent bullets or hail,
as both have the same significance. The lower part of the garment is the most
interesting. Here we have four buffalo-tracks arranged in rectangular relation
to represent buffalo, and a circle or medicine-hoop (half of which is red and half green) with extending lines of the same
colors, representing the thunder, or its power. The idea of this association of the hoop, or, as it is sometimes spoken of, the
mirror, is that this buffalo escapes bullets, or perhaps is immortal. Below the sign of the buffalo is a four-pointed figure,
usually known as the spider-web design, representing the heavens; and below this is the rainbow. Two swallows are
represented connected to the points in the spider-web design by lines, indicating that they enjoy the protection of this
power, making them difficult to hit with bullets or other missiles.
On another garment (Fig.
12), the triangular area at the top
is entirely in red, covered with
white spots representing hail, and
bordered
with
wavy
lines
representing the rainbow. This represents the rainbow in the sky. The dark crescent represents the moon. Below is a large
four-pointed star in black, representing the night, with a line extending over each side, representing the clouds. The small
disk in red represents a bullet; and the small green crescent, the moon. Below these is the spider-web design, representing
the heavens, over the four corners of which the lightning appears; but in this case the design is covered with dots
representing the falling of the stars. Near this design we find the butterfly and the buffalo-tracks. The remaining space on
the whole garment is covered with patches of color, representing the hail. On the opposite side (Fig. 13) are peculiar
triangular designs, the background of which is in red bordered by straight lines, suggesting the rainbow; while on the red
Fig. 14 (50-3055). Front of a Ghost-dance Garment
bearing Dragon-fly Design. Length, 125 cm.
Fig. 15 (50-3055). Back of Garment shown in Fig. 14.
background are placed the design of the moon and two circles in such relation as to suggest a face. This design was
spoken of as the “moon-face;” but this seems to have been an after-interpretation, since the artist wished to represent the
medicine-hoop or mirror in the sky. [It seems likely that this is simply an adaptation of a head-dress used in the elk
ceremony.] Below this we have a combination which appears to be the spider-web design combined with the figure of a
bird, which is said to be the dream-figure, representing the bird seen on a tree. Below this we have the moon, rainbow,
tracks of the buffalo, stars, butterfly, and a mounted warrior riding through the hail.
In Fig. 14, the triangular space at the top is similar to that on the
preceding garment, and need not be described here. The body of the dress
is covered with dragon-flies as they appear when flying over water. The
stars represent reflections in the water; and the dashes of color, the hail. The
wavy green lines extending down the full length of the garment represent the
lightning. In this case the red at the top is spoken of as the thunder-cloud. On the opposite side (Fig. 15), the triangular
area with its tail-like extension represents the rattlesnake. In addition we have tracks of the buffalo dragon-fly, and
butterfly, all associated as in nature. Upon the sides of this garment are the designs of the lizard, swallow, and turtle.
The above detailed statements concerning the designs and their import
do not convey their full significance as it was brought out in discussions
between the writer and the men who made these garments. In the first
place we find on them symbols to be described in another section of this
paper; namely, the spider-web designs and the medicine-hoop. It will be seen that in most cases the living creatures
represented are those that seem to have power to escape the hailstones, because, as they say, no matter how severe the
hailstorm may be, no one observes their dead or maimed upon the ground: therefore they assume that these creatures
possess some extraordinary power, or receive the attention of some protective power. The bird represented does not
seem to be the thunder-bird, as is usually the case in Dakota art, but such species, usually birds of prey, as soar above the
destructive range of the hail. The lizard and the turtle are spoken of as animals of great power, since they are killed with
great difficulty, from which it follows that they also enjoy the protection of some power. This we may generalize by saying
that the Indian placed upon these garments representations of living creatures that, according to his observation and
experience, were seldom hit by missiles, or that possessed great vitality, making it difficult to kill them. Placed on the
garments, they express a prayer, a hope, or an actual realization, on the part of the wearer, of the protective power by
which these creatures are enabled to survive.
The triangular designs at the top of these garments were spoken of as shields, the idea being that they were in some
measure shield-designs, and performed the same function as did those upon shields in former times. Mr. Mooney
expresses the opinion that the protective designs on garments used in the ghost-dance religion were not aboriginal with the
Indian.
“The protective idea in connection with the ghost-shirt does not seem to be aboriginal. The Indian warrior
habitually went into battle naked above the waist. His protecting ‘medicine’ was a feather, a tiny bag of some sacred
powder, the claw of an animal, the head of a bird, or some other small object which could be readily twisted into his
hair or hidden between the covers of his shield, without attracting attention. Its virtue depended entirely on the
ceremony of the consecration, and not on size or texture. The war-paint had the same magic power of protection. To
cover the body in battle was not in accordance with Indian usage, which demanded that the warrior should be as free
and unincumbered in movement as possible. The so-called ‘war-shirt’ was worn chiefly in ceremonial dress-parades,
and only rarely on the war-path.”[8]
This statement, however, suggests that Mr. Mooney based his opinion upon objective evidence, while the opinion
expressed by the writer is based upon subjective evidence. A comparison of the interpretations of shield-designs and
ghost-dress designs seems to leave little opportunity for any other conclusion than that the protective designs used in the
ghost-dance were essentially the same as those used in former times upon shields and other objects. The garments may be
foreign; but the idea of protective designs is most certainly not peculiar to the ghost-dance religion, since it was widely
distributed among American tribes, and associated with ceremonial objects that were in use at least a century before the
ghost-dance religion appeared.
If the writer had no other information at hand than that furnished by Mr. Mooney in his comprehensive study of the
ghost-dance religion, he would be inclined to regard the whole as the manifestation of aboriginal religious ideas in response
to a single foreign conception; namely, that of the coming of a messiah and the destruction of the present order of the
world. The way in which the ghost-dance ceremonies were performed, the ideas expressed in the songs, the things the
priests dreamed of, and the objects used in the ceremonies, are so characteristically Indian, that no other interpretation
seems possible. However, in the present connection we are concerned with these designs as types of the universal
primitive expression of belief in the presence of a guiding personal agency that looks into the affairs of men.
[6]
George Sword, on Ghost-dance Religion (Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American
Ethnology, p. 798).
[7]
Mrs. Z. A. Parker (Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, p. 916).
[8]
Mooney (Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, p. 790).
THE HOOP.
Fig. 16 (50-2964). Circular
Design upon a Shirt.
Diameter, 11 cm.
Fig. 17. Sketch, by a Native,
of an Elk-mystery Dancer carrying a
Hoop with a Mirror in the Centre.
Drawing collected by R. Cronau.
The circle, or more properly the hoop, is a very important religious symbol among the Dakota. One form of it appears
in the great hoop-game described by Louis Meeker,[9] and later by Dr. J. R. Walker.[10] This hoop is usually about two
feet in diameter, and notched so as to divide the circumference into quadrants. While this hoop-game seems to be a true
gambling game, it could be and was sometimes played as part of a ritualistic ceremony the object of which was to bring the
buffalo. It is interesting to note that this large hoop is similar to the sacred wheel used by the Arapaho in the sun-dance. At
the time of the ghost-dance outbreak among the Dakota of Pine Ridge Reservation, Mr. Mooney saw the hoop and the
two pairs of sticks used with it carried in the ceremonies connected with the ghost-dance religion. He states:—
“It is said that the medicine-man of Big Foot’s band carried such a hoop with him in their flight from the north,
and displayed it in every dance held by the band until the fatal day of Wounded Knee. A similar hoop was carried and
hung upon the centre tree at the dance at No Water’s camp near Pine Ridge. To the Indian it symbolizes the revival of
the old-time games.”[11]
The last line of the above quotation implies that the hoop was a part of the paraphernalia used in the ghost-dance
ceremonies, because it symbolized the ancient games. On another page of the same article occurs the following:—
“As it was the favorite game with the men in the olden times, a great many of the songs founded on these trance
visions refer to it, and the wheel and sticks are made by the dreamer, and carried in the dance as they sing.”[12]
It should be remembered, however, that the game was formerly played to restore the buffalo when they were
temporarily absent from their range; and, as one of the great objects of the ghost-dance religion was the return of the
buffalo as in the olden times, the reason for the use of the hoop in the ceremonies described by Mooney is apparent. In
Mooney’s account, a number of songs pertaining to the hoop-game are given as sung by the various tribes practising the
ghost-dance religion. Among these is a Dakota version, as follows:—
“The holy (hoop) shall run,
“Come and see it,
The holy (hoop) shall run,
Come and see it,
The swift hoop shall run,
Says the father,
The swift hoop shall run.”
Says the father.”[13]
A mythical account of the hoop-game is given by Dr. J. R. Walker, which indicates one of the probable conceptions
upon which this religious use of the hoop rests.[14]
The hoop-symbol occurs in graphic form, sometimes upon garments. The writer secured a shirt that was used by one
of the leaders in ghost-dances; and which seems to have been a type of the so-called “bullet-proof shirt.” This garment is
daubed with red about the neck and on the shoulders, but in addition bears four circular designs, also in red, with large
dots at their centres (Fig. 16). One of these designs is placed upon the right breast; another, directly opposite, upon the
back of the garment; one upon the right shoulder; and one upon the left. These are so arranged, that, no matter from what
point you see the wearer, one of the circular designs will be visible. These designs were recognized as symbols of the
medicine-hoop, and were supposed to have the power to protect the wearer from all harm. The idea of placing the designs
so that one of them should always be between the wearer and the source of danger may be original with the owner of this
shirt; but the number of them (four), and their arrangement according to the four directions, correspond to the common
explanation of religious symbols.
Meeker describes[15] a wheel-shaped hoop-ornament consisting of a ring enclosing four
spokes at right angles to each other. According to his account, this is a symbol associated with
the hoop-game; but similar specimens were seen by the writer upon the heads of Dakota men,
who explained that these were symbols of the medicine-wheel or medicine-hoop, and did not
refer to the hoop-game. They were worn because they were regarded as symbols of the
power that could protect the wearer from arrows, bullets, or other dangers.
As is suggested by the above, the game-hoop is distinguished from the medicine-hoop as used in ceremonies. A
medicine-hoop seems to have been used by all divisions of the Dakota, and, according to the descriptions received by the
writer, to have been of several forms. In certain ceremonies where the elk played an important part, a hoop or ring was
formed by twining together fresh twigs and leaves of the willow. In the centre of this hoop, a small mirror was held by four
cords arranged at right angles, and representing the four directions. A drawing of an elk-dancer by a native is shown in Fig.
17. The painted centre for the circular designs on a shirt (Fig. 16) described above, as well as the small wheel-shaped
head-ornament, were said to represent a hoop of this type.
The connection of this hoop with the idea of protection is well illustrated in the
manufacture of one kind of red paint. It is produced by burning a kind of yellow clay,
found near the Black Hills, until it takes on the red color. The paint, however, is given
its protective power by certain ceremonies performed as it is made. In the particular
ceremony observed by the writer, the yellow earth was pounded fine, and mixed with
water until it became a stiff paste. This was then made into a flat disk about half an inch
thick and from four to six inches in diameter, after which a hole or depression was
made in the centre. The purpose of this, as explained, was to give it the form of a medicine-hoop, the hole in the centre
corresponding to the place occupied by the mirror in the form of hoop just described. This disk was then burned in the fire
until red, after which it was pounded on a stone until fine enough for use. The ceremony in preparing the paint consisted of
ritualistic songs and prayers, which reached their climax as the disk of clay was formed and perforated. The burning and
the subsequent preparation were not regarded as parts of the ceremony. The idea, as expressed, was to connect the paint
Fig. 18 (50-2095). Engraved Metal Cross.
Collected by R. Cronau. Length, 23 cm.
Fig. 19 (50-2898). Engraved Bone Object.
Collected by R. Cronau. Length, 24 cm.
with the power represented by the hoop, so that when a warrior rubbed some of it upon his body, he came at once under
the protection of this power.
Another idea seems to be connected with the conception of the medicine-hoop, and that is the appearance of certain
mythical animals with openings through their bodies where their hearts should be. The conception seems to be, that an
animal without a heart is immortal and supernatural: at least, this is the way in which the mythical elk was described.
According to the belief, there is a connection between this opening through the heart and the centre of the medicine-hoop,
represented in the elk ceremonies by the mirror; but it is the opinion of the writer that this is an error on the part of the
Indians themselves in associating two things that were formerly distinct.[16]
It seems rather curious that the mirror should become so closely associated with the hoop, and that the mirror should
have appealed to them as a symbol of almost equal importance. The writer is of the opinion that the preceding cases,
where the mirror and the hoop are considered as identical symbols, are the result of a former close association of the two
in ceremonial affairs.
[9]
Meeker (Bulletin of the Free Museum of Science and Art, University of Pennsylvania, Vol. III. No. 1).
[10]
Walker (The Journal of the American Folk-Lore Society, October-December, 1905).
[11]
Mooney (Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, p. 1075).
[12]
Mooney (Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, p. 994).
[13]
Mooney (Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, p. 1075).
[14]
Walker (The Journal of the American Folk-Lore Society, October-December, 1905).
[15]
Meeker, op. cit., p. 35.
[16]
In the Report of the Peabody Museum (Vol. III, p. 286) is a description by Miss Fletcher of some
ceremonies in which the hoop and the mirror played a part. “The neophyte held one, having a circular
mirror, fastened by four cords, from which he cast a reflection of the sun from time to time upon the
ground, or held up the hoop, and flashed the mirror.” The explanation given by this author of the
significance of the mirror in these ceremonies differs from that secured by the writer; but Miss
Fletcher’s account seems to refer to a form of ceremony pertaining to the elk rites not mentioned in his
notes.
THE WHIRLWIND.
In another place the writer
has described the conception of
the power of the whirlwind
among some of the Dakota, but
wishes at this time to refer to it
again because of its relation to their system of protective designs.[17] As stated in the former publication, there seems to be
in the minds of some of the Dakota an association between the phenomenon of the whirlwind and those mental states
generally known as “confusion of mind.” Some of them believed and still believe that the power in the whirlwind can be
invoked to confuse the mind of an enemy. In common with many other American tribes, the Dakota believe the whirlwind
to be associated with the fluttering wings of a moth, but they also associate this with the cocoon of the same moth; and in
symbolic representation the design representing the power of the whirlwind is of an elongated diamond-shape, and refers
to the cocoon. The protection or aid of the whirlwind was secured by prayers, and these prayers were symbolized by the
cocoon worn upon the person, by its image in stuffed buckskin, or by its graphic representation, sketched or painted. The
power of the whirlwind was supposed to have been associated with the power of the spider-web. As an illustrat...
